PICTURED ABOVE: Shelby Knowles tallied 17 kills in the win against 10th-ranked UW-Stevens Point.

Elmhurst, Ill. – The Wheaton volleyball team faced a pair of foes from the Wiconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) on Saturday afternoon at the Elmhurst Invite. Wheaton defeated 10^th-ranked UW-Stevens Point, 3-0 in the first session of the day. UW-La Crosse defeated the Thunder 3-0 in the second session of the afternoon.

Wheaton took the 3-0 win in three straight sets from 10^th-ranked UW-Stevens Point (15-3) in the opening match. The Thunder won a 25-22 decision in the first set, followed by a 25-17 win in the second set and a 27-25 win in the decisive third set.

Junior Shelby Knowles had a tremendous outing against the Pointers with 17 kills as she posted a .378 attack percentage. She also registered a team-best 18 digs in the match with three service aces. Freshman Sydney Vischer tallied 11 kills with three blocks assists. Emily Potts recorded seven kills for the Thunder with a solo block and three block assists. Jessica Bosse tallied 13 digs and senior Kelli Manning added 10 digs. Freshman Kelly Thornton had 20 assists with two service aces and Ashley Torok added 17 assists.

UW-La Crosse (11-4) earned the 3-0 win against the Thunder as the Eagles earned the 25-20 win in the first set. UW-La Crosse was a 25-18 winner in the second set and closed out the match with a 25-23 win in the third set.

Knowles led the Thunder with 15 kills and seven digs. Knowles tallied a .364 attack percentage in the match. Potts registered six kills with three total blocks. Manning and Bosse each tallied seven digs in the match and Torok distributed 19 assists with a pair of service aces.

Wheaton head coach Brittany Smith noted after the tournament, "I really liked what I saw from our team today. We have been working incredibly hard this week on fine-tuning specific aspects of our game, specifically blocking and offensive versatility." She continued, "It was disappointing to not be more competitive in the second match today, but to take down a ranked team in three-straight sets was exactly what our team needed as we move into conference play." She concluded, "I am starting to see this young team work more efficiently and I am excited to see how those lessons play out when we get into conference play."  

Wheaton is now 5-10 on the year. The Thunder will host 16^th-ranked Elmhurst College at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening in the CCIW opener for both teams.